[New-imc] RE: [Imc-beirut] Beirut- imc/ developments

[blue pi]

Hi,

some more words about the imc Beirut developments, the crusaders and
the like. Of course I don’t like to be called a crusader, missionary
etc., which I would say Petros email was implying. I especially don’t
like to be called that on all kinds of lists.

I have already explained that things here are quite different than
they appear concerning tech issues. Many other assumptions Petros
expressed are quite to the opposite as well. e.g. I am the one who
always encouraged people to check out the imc documents, read the
principles of unity etc., and when no one seemed to care time after
time I fotocopied them for all, so we could discuss them. I am also
the one who kept insisting on decision making by consensus, posting
minutes from tech meetings (transparency) etc.. All this up to a
point where some people told me, that they felt that this whole “imc
process” seems a quite western invention to them (well, others also
expressed the opposite opinion) and that they would just like to move
on with setting up the website.

For me this whole situation is not always easy, because I have
different ideas of how an imc website should be set up, maybe they go
much more into the direction of what Petros is insisting on, I can’t
tell really, because what he assumes is so entirely wrong. For
example I think that everyone should contribute ideas for the
website, could write static texts (e.g. faq’s), look for background
pictures .... but people have continously told me, that it is not
working this way here, that the majority will contribute articles
once the website is up, but that we shouldn’t expect them to
contribute to the website. 

So I go along with that, only that I insisted on continously asking
people via mailinglist to contribute, so if they want they know what
they can do. 

Despite these problems I think that things are working fine. But it
may take some time to get people aquainted with the way indymedia
works (and by this I mean how the network, the communication, the
processes work). 

So I would generally ask that people don’t just assume things, but
maybe first ask. Also if we are talking about setting up imc’s in the
“Global South” (and I am not so sure if Lebanon really is that, in
some ways yes, in others this is a really "westernized", European
place), take into consideration that it is not only the tech side
that might be strange for people, but maybe also our whole decision
making, process etc. 

blue



>-------------------- 
>
>
>Marhaba and Hello to you Semk,
>and to all our colleagues working to create the Beirut-
>imc,
>(hello blue.pi, and Bassem)
>
>Thank you for writing.
>I’m very happy to see from the Beirut email- list, that
>the work to develop imc- Beirut is going forward.
>Everyone at the imc network, and especially at the
>new-imc working group,  wants to see this happen!
>
>But
 I have some thoughts for all of you, which I have
>tried to communicate to some of your group in the past,
>which I don’t think were understood well. This is an
>open letter to the whole Beirut- imc group.
>
>Please give some consideration to the following:
>Indymedia is *not* a website, is it is an organization
>of people: people who meet face- to- face, and who use
>the network when it is the appropriate medium to
>communicate. It is an organization dedicated to
>creating and maintaining radical and  free media of
>expression, creating tools for communities’ self-
>expression, and has a special connection to the
>struggle against the globalisation of world domination
>by corporate and state powers.
>
>Please understand this: building Beirut- imc means
>building a *group of people*, not a website.  A website
>might be the result of radical group work, individual
>work, corporate work, authoritarian work, it might be
>anything. What we want is to get to know the group.
>That is the most important thing. For us to get to know
>each other!
>
>I hope that this is only a misunderstanding (because I
>also fear that perhaps you are being misled - why are
>not any of the other imc colleagues telling you this?).
>It’s wonderful that you are building a relationship
>with technically- oriented imc volunteers in Europe,
>but you are actually by-passing the more important
>steps: building a political reationship with Indymedia.
>I would like to re-invite you, as I did in the past, to
>please think about this, and begin to write to us ( @
>new-imc, or to me, or to Eastern Mediterranean imc,
>anywhere you like to begin), write more about your
>group, your meetings, your outreach, community
>relationships, participating organizations, alliances,
>and all that. 
>
>I see that as group, you may think that if you make a
>website ready, that your application to new-imc might
>go through more easily. It’s true that unfortunately
>this happens with some imc groups,  because some of our
>colleagues are not clear in what they do.
>Irresponsibly, they encourage imc groups to form
>quickly and to develop technically (create a website
>and apply for membership), without any attention to
>group process, or with only a shallow attention to
>politics. We keep having disasters when we follow that
>policy. For that reason, I assure you that wherever my
>opinion has any weight, I will continue to oppose that
>policy - it is nothing more than a leftist/ progressive
>version of missionaries ("soft crucades" to
>proselytize), married to techno- philanthropy (instead
>of money, donating access to the net for selected
>allies and colonised communties), both of which have
>done humanity a *lot* of damage, especially to us who
>live in the global colonies. 
>
>And for those of us who live in the Middle East, we
>know directly that if we ignore political realities,
>and just allow the missionaries, crucaders, and
>philanthropists to shape the forms of our struggle for
>liberation, our communities suffer death and
>destruction. 
>
>
>Please understand this:
>I would like to invite you to cultivate a *political*
>relationship with Indymedia. If you can do both the
>technical work and the political/ group work at the
>same time, fine, but if you have to choose, I would
>suggest slow down the technical, and seek to deal with
>group (human) realities. I guarantee to you that in
>this way you will have an approved imc faster, and then
>all the facilities of imc (which are not very much, but
>growing) will be open to you.
>
>Specific steps to take:
>1.  please read again the New Imc materials, at
>  http://newimc.indymedia.org , and orient your work in
>that direction.
>
>2. please start forming/ writing some updates about
>your group, its meetings, its developments, etc, to the
>new-imc working group, or to me if you prefer.
> 
>3. about membership to the imc-communication group:
>It is a group which aims at becoming an Indymedia
>network-  wide collective body, capable of exercising
>some sort of online direct democracy in which all the
>imc local/ regional/ global groups will participate. We
>are still working to create that. Right now the
>participants are all Liaisons from existing imc member
>groups, and as each new group joins the imc, a Liaison
>is designated by that group to participate at the
>imc-communication group, to facilitate a wider dialogue
>among all imc’s. 
>The archives of course, are open to all to see, here
>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-communication
>and anyone who is not a Liaison to this list can
>participate (mail something) through someone who is
>already a participant.
>We are eager to have Beirut- imc participate through a
>Liaison, but first the group has to become an approved
>member of imc. (The *group*, not a website.)
>
>For all that to happen, we need to know a little more
>about your group. Would you like to write to us and
>help us cultivate a better understanding among us? 
>
>Thank you again, and looking forward to hearing from
>all of you, 
>Petros
>--------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>Imc-beirut mailing list
>Imc-beirut at lists.indymedia.org
>http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-beirut
>
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